Academic Writing, Referencing and Plagiarism

Respect for authorship and the cultivation of the highest possible standards in academic and scholarly writing are fundamental values of the University of Buckingham, as in all British universities. The culture of personal, small-group teaching at Buckingham offers an ideal setting for such values to be shared.

We look forward to working with you throughout your period of study to ensure that you develop a full and nuanced understanding of best practice in academic writing and how to avoid plagiarism. These pages represent only a fraction of the guidance that is offered. Advice from staff on a one-to-one basis will always be available, and we hope you will seek it. In the meantime, please make use of the resources we have created to assist you, via the links on the right.

As part of your induction into University life, you will also be required to complete an online examination of your understanding of our policy and procedures in this area, before submitting work for assessment. Full details will be given with your joining instructions. Click here to view a copy of the policy document.

As further reading we also strongly recommend Referencing and Understanding Plagiarism by Kate Williams and Jude Carroll, and Richard Pears and Graham Shields’s Cite them Right: the Essential Referencing Guide; both titles are readily available in the University Library.

Free Referencing Software

Ask Librarians for guidance in using referencing software.

Zotero

Zotero is a free and open-source reference management software to manage bibliographic data and related research materials. Zotero collects all your research in a single, searchable interface. You can add PDFs, images, audio and video files snapshots of web pages and much more